Machining center manufacturers are all looking for and touting the ability to reduce part cycle times by offering faster and more efficient machines. That is what the job shop and part production customers of these products demand, because their end-product customers are driving a purchasing philosophy of lower costs per part.

While the choice of a high-speed machining center makes a major difference in operational productivity and part cost, the tooling utilized on that machine can be another dominant factor. The efficiency of such new, special purpose proprietary tooling can even further enhance the output of a horizontal machining center. It can provide a wide degree of flexibility in compressing several machining processes, especially in parts production.

As an example, there are a number of unique, special tools that can reduce the initial capital investment and drive out substantial process time in the machining of engine blocks. Cylinder bores can be finished and honed with a precise closed-loop boring system that automatically compensates for tool wear or thermal distortion and produces exceptional repeatability.

You can also grind bimetallic surfaces utilizing a cubic boron nitrite super-abrasive grinding wheel all on a standard machining center.

Machines incorporated with this special, multi-functional tooling will outperform a number of individual specialty-purpose machines when used in an integrated system. Mid- to high-volume parts manufacturers often invest in state-of-the-art machine tool technology, and can further enhance their flexibility and productivity with the use of such special-purpose tooling.

With more and more demand to streamline processes and production cycle times, especially from original equipment manufacturer outsourcing operations, there is a growing need for more valuable and cost-effective solutions for jobs shops and production facilities. And, the solutions exist to allow them to “work smarter.” It is also important to note that the reason so many of the manufacturing jobs have been re-sourced to the US is that technologies like these have eliminated the price gap. It is now possible to manufacture in the United States what was once outsourced.

The goal of every business owner is growth. One of the main reasons that you decide to undertake the challenge of developing a business is to create a venture that can improve your life. As your enterprise begins to expand, you will have to make some difficult decisions. One of those might be the need to establish a manufacturing process where outsourcing could be a possibility.

Outsourcing business processes is getting very popular today. But did you know that you can also outsource a manufacturing process as well? Basically, you can ask another company to manufacture your product on your behalf. You may be wondering about the advantages of this choice since the goal is to manufacture your product without the help of another company. However, outsourcing part of your manufacturing process has several benefits that need to be considered.

For example, when your peak season arrives, it is inevitable that the demand for your product will increase. Should you buy new equipment and hire new workers to meet this demand? In the past, this might have been the solution. Today, outsourcing your production enables you to avoid paying the higher costs for meeting the demand of the market during this particular timeframe.

However, despite the advantages of outsourcing your manufacturing process, you should be aware of some of the risks that are involved. For example, you would not have the same control over the quality of the product that is being produced because you are not present during the manufacturing process. This is especially true if the outsourcing company you hire is new or if it has never produced the kind of product you are asking them to manufacture for you.

You might observe that most of the companies that take advantage of outsourcing are usually the larger companies instead of the small and medium scale enterprises. But in fact, outsourcing could be more advantageous for small and medium scale enterprises. This is because even though manufacturing outsourcing may cost a larger company more money per unit produced, outsourcing can enable small and medium enterprises the chance to sell more products at a profit. Instead of paying the costs for using your own production resources, this overhead can be absorbed by the business you outsource to.

Outsourcing the manufacturing process is also a good strategy for business start-ups that do not have the initial capital to build an entire factory by themselves. In the long run though, if your company is large enough to achieve economies of scale, it is recommended that you produce all your products yourself to maintain the quality standards that your company is known for.

Obviously, manufacturing the products yourself can produce more money because you eliminate the overhead for using the outsourcing company and derive all of the profits for your own company. Overall though, the outsourcing of your manufacturing process can be advantageous if your profit margin is more when you outsource the process. It is a complex and difficult choice that should be considered very carefully.

Any decision that is made to improve your business requires research, examination and caution. If your business has developed to the point where outsourcing is a possibility, consider the disadvantages as well as the advantages. The choice you make could propel your business to a new level.

“When you cannot make up your mind between two evenly balanced courses of action, choose the bolder.”

If you’re looking for the right manufacturing team, you have to start with the right recruiting team. Let WH Meanor put our experience to work for you. Register now for a free ten minute assessment of your search efforts by clicking the link https://whmeanorassociates.as.me/

The manufacturing industry has been changing dramatically over just the past few years. Advancements in technology have been rampant and the newest machines being built require absolute precision. The only way that we can get that today is by the use of intelligent manufacturing.

Absolute accuracy and efficiency are required by many of today’s factories. The existence of the automotive industry as an example is dependent on their ability to provide for safety and accuracy in their automotive manufacturing and building. Who is, after all, going to buy an automobile that isn’t guaranteed to be safe and well built? The electrical systems and many other components need to be–in some cases– a level of perfection that cannot always be achieved by human hands. Enter the use of intelligent manufacturing & Machine to Machine (M2M) communication.

One great example of intelligent machines in current use is the Machine to Machine communication platform used by CNC machinery that is used today to create high end machines & products for use in the aerospace, power generation & automotive industries. Another would be the automotive and the programmable logic controller manufacture. These intelligent machines in use today can not only manufacture more cheaply, but they can manufacture machinery in a far smaller space and can save money by telling you when or if the machine is liable to breakage or is having some problems that could lead to down time. Applications and software being used in the factories today can offer dramatic savings in time, in money and in headaches.

Companies in this economic climate are under increased pressure to have their machinery running to capacity yet to provide for and produce increased number of nearly perfect goods. Due to that pressure

the machinery that is running is usually running at peak capacity and as such can be prone to breakdown.

Mechanical breakdown can cost a company plenty. Not just in the financial losses that take place when the company is experiencing down time, but also from lost contracts or orders due to that down time.

The challenge then is to ensure that there is a nominal amount of down time and minimal breakage. Today a wide range of applications are being used in manufacturing that can help to lower stoppage or breakage as well as to provide nearly personalized information sent to the operator to assist them in diagnosing the issues that may be taking place. The machines are being diagnosed by other machines or applications that can help to keep them operational and to warn the operations manager when there is a problem and prevent the breakdowns by suggesting fixes before the breakage or down time even takes place.

Machine to Machine (M2M) provides for the means for machines to operate at peak capacity.

Today, companies who have embraced this type of manufacturing include the CNC industries, Ford Motor Company and multiple other automotive manufacturers and, surprisingly the oil and gas industry. The refineries for a wide range of different oil and gas companies have embraced intelligent manufacturing wholeheartedly.

Machine to Machine (M2M) has given the oil and gas industry the ability to improve their planning, their overall operations and improved the maintenance taking place in refineries today preventing a wide range of problems such as mechanical failure that might have led to spillage and other issues, saving both the companies and the public as a whole from the problems to which refinery errors can lead.

Machine to Machine (M2M) communication is not just limited to manufacturing but also the power generation and smart grid energy sectors. In this report the Carbon War Room goes into great detail on the 1 trillion dollar market that M2M technology will provide not only to manufacturing but transportation, energy and even agriculture. The report is detailed and interesting: Machine to Machine technology

The wave of the future, the way in which to arrive at precision, cost effective manufacturing is intelligent technology and it is transforming a wide range of businesses and industries now. Some of it is even diagnosing problems and telling the machinist or machine operator how to correct the fault to prevent the down time or to prevent disasters from taking place. Intelligent manufacturing may be a key player in the not too distant future in preventing oil refinery fires, oil spills and preventing environmental problems from taking place.

James Kemper is the president of W. H. Meanor & Associates, an executive placement & training company specializing in engineering & manufacturing careers. He can be reached at: jms@whmeanor.com or 704-372-7640 #102 or visit at www.whmeanor.com

Machining center manufacturers are all looking for and touting the ability to reduce part cycle times by offering faster and more efficient machines. That is what the job shop and part production customers of these products demand, because their end-product customers are driving a purchasing philosophy of lower costs per part.

While the choice of a high-speed machining center makes a major difference in operational productivity and part cost, the tooling utilized on that machine can be another dominant factor. The efficiency of such new, special purpose proprietary tooling can even further enhance the output of a horizontal machining center. It can provide a wide degree of flexibility in compressing several machining processes, especially in parts production.

Makino, a global provider of advanced machining technology, says that the use of special-purpose and multifunctional tools, like the SmartTools it manufactures, helps in this process compression. These specially designed and patented tools reduce cycle times as well as production costs, which saves money.

As an example, there are a number of unique, special tools that can reduce the initial capital investment and drive out substantial process time in the machining of engine blocks. Cylinder bores can be finished and honed with a precise closed-loop boring system that automatically compensates for tool wear or thermal distortion and produces exceptional repeatability.

You can also grind bimetallic surfaces utilizing a cubic boron nitride superabrasive grinding wheel all on a standard machining center.

Machines incorporated with this special, multifunctional tooling will outperform a number of individual specialty-purpose machines when used in an integrated system. Mid- to high-volume parts manufacturers often invest in state-of-the-art machine tool technology, and can further enhance their flexibility and productivity with the use of such special-purpose tooling.

With more and more demand to streamline processes and production cycle times, especially from original equipment manufacturer outsourcing operations, there is a growing need for more valuable and cost-effective solutions for jobs shops and production facilities. And, the solutions exist to allow them to “work smarter.” ?

If you’re looking for the right manufacturing team, you have to start with the right recruiting team. Let WH Meanor put our experience to work for you. Register now for a free ten minute assessment of your search efforts by clicking the link https://whmeanorassociates.as.me/ WH Meanor can help. Call today.

It used to be that the only electronics that were networked together and able to communicate were computers – and they only were able to connect with each other over a wired connection. But now, not only do we have wireless internet everywhere, we also have the Internet of Things – the network of devices that make up our world, sharing information, gathering data and learning from us so that they can serve us better. But what will this network look like in 50 years?

Where exactly is the Internet of Things going?

The Internet in 50 Years

In 50 years, some experts think that the internet itself is going to be completely different than what we are used to. In the future, there will be internet much farther advanced than our current technology and it will literally be everywhere. Rather than finding “hotspots” with internet, people will very likely have a unique login of some kind that is the same across all of their devices to access the wide array of internet spanning the globe. You’ll probably have to pay every month for access, but maybe not. After all, you can find Wi-Fi that is free to use in my places even right now.

The Communication in 50 Years

Most people don’t have any idea just how fast the internet will be in 50 years. Right now, data centers or “nodes” that provide internet service communicate with each other at lightning speeds at least 10 times faster than the average home download speed. That will change. In 50 years, we’ll be connecting to each other at speeds that will probably be 100X faster than what currently passes for internet speed at these data centers, and rather than having home internet and Wi-Fi speeds that are optimized for download, both the upload and the download will be mega-fast. Fast enough that you could stream or upload a huge HD movie in seconds.

The Network of “Things” in 50 Years

Finally, the Internet of Things will literally be everywhere. From the clothing that we wear to the appliances, electronics and furniture in our homes, everything will be connected to the internet, gathering data, learning how to improve and sharing information with each other. When you sit down on your couch, your entertainment system will come on. When you get sick or injured, your clothing will not only have your medical information – they will also be able to call 911. Everything will be networked and it truly will be an Internet of Things.

If you’re looking for the right manufacturing team, you have to start with the right recruiting team. Let WH Meanor put our experience to work for you. Register now for a free ten minute assessment of your search efforts by clicking the link https://whmeanorassociates.as.me/ WH Meanor can help. Call today.

Lean manufacturing is the processes, techniques, strategies and initiatives being implemented by companies around the world that aim to reduce unnecessary and unproductive tasks, activities and behaviors in the work environment.

Because the times have really gone hard, demanding and intense due to political and turbulent concerns affecting all nations, firms are currently facing challenges to be able to keep their profitability and efficiency.

Lean manufacturing not only reduces operational costs but also targets to boost, restore and significantly raise the competitiveness of a company.

There are seven identified ‘forms of waste’ within the work environment and systems that lean manufacturing principally aims to alleviate, if not totally eliminate. These are over production, over processing, transportation, motion, inventory, waiting and scrap and defects.

Several advantages of adopting lean manufacturing principles

The first advantage identified by experts from implementing lean manufacturing techniques and strategies is the reduction of manufacturing time.

When the manufacturing lead time is significantly lowered, it follows that the operational costs incurred from the use of energy, utilities and wages from laborers’ time will also be significantly reduced.

Thus, lean manufacturing helps companies retain, maintain and significantly increase their earnings, widen their margins and help them generate savings from lower costs.

Space is another area where lean manufacturing advantages are clearly and effectively exhibited. Working space, it is understood, is one of the primary and basic factors that keep operations of businesses going.

Labor and human resource experts estimate that adoption of good and effective lean manufacturing techniques and strategies will likely help companies reduce their physical floor space requirements by as much as 5% to 30%.

The figures involved could be small and miniscule for your eyes, but, actually, that will significantly contribute to much more efficiency and savings. That would be an advantage almost all businesses will surely look after.

The advantage in productivity

It is found that in general, companies implementing and adhering to lean manufacturing practices significantly boost and increase their manufacturing productivity by as much as 75% to 125%.

It is because time and efforts are principally targeted by lean manufacturing processes. Thus, elimination of wastes, practices, behaviors and unnecessary and disturbing objects in the work place will surely and practically help workers get on to their tasks with much smooth pacing and comfort.

You know how it is when workers work without any distractions and interruptions. Productivity is very much maximized. Thus, lean manufacturing becomes a necessity for companies to be able to achieve that goal.

The advantages in terms of waste to profit relationships

It follows that elimination and reduction of wastes will gradually and efficiently help boost and raise up earnings and profits in companies.

Thus, elimination of wastes and unproductive activities, objects, tasks and behaviors in the work place will surely help the company and its personnel focus on the requirements and demands of the customer.

The advantage of that, above all is that, when customer satisfaction is achieved, sales will surely rise. The best way to establish a good relationship with customers is to improve the products and services offered to them.

Lean manufacturing would be of great help to achieve a good customer or client relations.

Another advantage brought about by lean manufacturing techniques among various companies and firms adopting it worldwide is streamlined, rationalized or lean structuring of the organization.

You should know that elimination of excess and unnecessary job positions and tasks in a company is a sure way to help that firm reduce labor costs and eventually lead to generate savings.

Lean manufacturing without a doubt brings that advantage of leanness upon organizations and companies practicing and adopting it.

Advantage on culture improvement

Various companies around the world are practicing and implementing different cultures. It is usually a cause of problems, conflicts and issues around and within the organization.

In lean manufacturing, the cultures are standardized, thus, unfavorable practices and behaviors of both the employees and the management are reduced, if not eliminated.

The greatest advantage of lean manufacturing in terms of cultures adopted by companies is that lean manufacturing makes the differences between management and personnel reach to a verging point.

Lean manufacturing principles should really be implemented by companies. It is high time to reap its advantages.

In the field of management, there are various approaches that principally aim to accelerate and boost corporate firms’ revenues and operational efficiencies.

Progressive companies from around the world have been coming up with different strategies for corporate improvement. Some of these schemes have been so effective that other firms have recognized and even adopted them. One of these efficiency-focused philosophies is what is termed ‘lean manufacturing.’

What is lean manufacturing?

Lean manufacturing is a holistic and strategic approach that aims to enable businesses and companies to improve and boost competitiveness and profitability. Leaning–at least in part these days on IoT and Artificial intelligence, lean manufacturing aims to set in desired improvements through identification and elimination of wasteful or unproductive behavior and practices among employees and management.

Lean manufacturing is a program or methodology that could prove to be fitting and appropriate for all types of businesses or organizations. Lean manufacturing would be effective whether adopted by companies in the manufacturing, service, trading or other sectors.

Lean manufacturing is focused at helping companies get the right things, to the right and appropriate places, at the perfect or right time and in the right amount or quantity while at the same time, reducing waste and promoting productivity and flexibility among workers.

Lean manufacturing and waste

It does not take a successful manager to assert that businesses and companies carry unnecessary and unlikely burden of wastes.

Lean manufacturing as a philosophy focuses on reducing the seven wastes commonly identified among global firms. Lean manufacturing attempts to help companies eliminate these unnecessary wastes to improve output quality, to maximize production and the time needed for it and mostly, to significantly save on costs.

The seven wastes lean manufacturing aims to slash and eliminate in the workplace are the following:

Over production

Over processing

Transportation

Motion

Inventory

Waiting

Scrap and defects

Over production, over processing and inventory

While some companies view over production in the positive way, most, especially those in the service and manufacturing sectors, take it as a manufacturing liability.

Over production will create a piling of inventory that would eventually create a problem in distribution because most warehouses have capacity limits.

What is worse is that over production and piling of inventories are the usual causes of price drops, which are deemed bad for the business by most firms.

The fundamental law of supply and demand will attest that if supplies are exceeding or too much, then demand tries to settle down or decline. Demands going down will mean prices rolling back or dropping as well.

Over production is unnecessary because it takes away productive time from employees and managers. There are many disadvantage of over processing and most of them seem pretty obvious to you. Over processing increases cost.

Transportation, motion and waiting

Because time is an important element of productivity, lean manufacturing values it the most. Thus, lean manufacturing philosophy aims to boost efficiency.

Transportation is an essential element of manufacturing because through it commodities and merchandise are distributed to retailers, down to the consumers.

However, lean manufacturing mandates that firms maximize the use of transportation especially nowadays when oil prices are high.

Because energy prices are rising, and energy is what keeps companies rolling, motion should be controlled. Lean manufacturing will have companies slash procrastination and unproductive hours among employees so as to increase and meet sufficient production targets.

If motion is made efficient, then waiting could be reduced if not eliminated. In lean manufacturing, waiting makes people idle and it kills time that should have been used in more productive endeavors and activities.

Scrap and defects

Lean manufacturing have it that if employees are efficient and if they are motivated, the quality of production would be greatly boosted. That means, the company will not have to spend costs on wages, energies and other capital just to produce defective items that would eventually be rejected upon distribution.

While scraps and defects in production items are inevitable, companies adhering to lean manufacturing principles could always do something about it. Basic management principles have it that motivation is the most effective incentive to get workers doing the right and proper procedures in the work place.

All the seven wastes that are targeted by lean manufacturing strategies are interconnected with the elimination of one leading to the elimination of the others.

The bogeyman of manufacturing is automation & robotics. You either love them or you really hate them. About half of the manufacturing employees in the world have heard how robots are going to take over the business and they will be out of a job. Nothing could be further from the truth. While some very dangerous or very difficult jobs may be taken over by robotics, for the most part the use of robotics in manufacturing is taking place alongside and with the help of their flesh & blood counterparts.

Those interactions with co-bots, or robots working in cooperation with humanity, are providing some of the biggest improvements in manufacturing that we’ve seen in decades.

Co-bots got their start about 20 years ago but they have only been commercially available for about 10 years. They were invented originally in the 90s and some of the grants that went into researching them came from giant motor companies such as General Motors. They wanted robots that would work in collaboration with humans, helping them with lifting and other things.

In the latter part of 1996, two people at Northwestern University came up with the cobots of today. GM called them IAD or intelligent Assist Device, but the Cobot term stuck and was more rapidly accepted.

What are the Benefits of Co-bots?

It’s a whole new world so far as the competition in manufacturing. With AI and Machine learning and many other things, falling behind your competition simply isn’t an option. It’s the fast and easy way to be out of business. Co-bots can help you to do more and do it more quickly. Simply stated they are the way to get ahead of the competition and stay there.

They are suitable for small to midscale production and they offer you a far improved return on your initial investment. Co-bots also offer you a much safer work environment because they can do much of the difficult and dangerous work that you require completed.

The other added benefit of co-bots is they still require engineering and tech support. Many engineering jobs that seemed obsolete are now back in play so don’t neglect hardware engineering specialization. It’s back in vogue.

Co-bots, no matter how you slice it, are the wave of the future. Companies need to take a hard look at what they have to offer. In manufacturing as in any other technology driven arena… you either ride the wave, or you sink.

James Kemper is the president of W. H. Meanor & Associates, an executive placement & training company specializing in engineering & manufacturing careers. Register to receive regular blog posts and industry specific articles at: http://eepurl.com/dtKsDL or visit at www.whmeanor.com

With unemployment rates lower than they have been in years, there are some real down sides for employers. Notably the pool of available talent is smaller than it has been in nearly a decade.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “In January, the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent for the fourth consecutive month. The number of unemployed persons, at 6.7 million, changed little over the month.”

By way of comparison, in 2014, more than 1.5 million jobs were created, the largest gain to be seen in the past 8 years. With so many new jobs and far fewer people scrambling to take the small menial jobs, there are plenty of people looking for a step up. Fast forward 3 years and in 2017 the number of jobs created was even higher, and with far fewer people being displaced than have been in the past 5 years.

What that boils down to is that far fewer people are losing their jobs. Too, far fewer people are seeking new jobs. Many are happy and staying in their jobs and since tney are not being displaced, that means recruiting talent is a whole lot harder than ever before.

How can we attract and engage the people that we’d like to add to our pool of talent? It’s going to take a bit more than just adding that extra 20 cents an hour at this point. It is, as the recruiters say, a candidates market and they are taking advantage of it to ask for the things that they want.

Employers now have to take a hard look at adding things like relocation package for the employee who has a special skill set that could be useful anywhere. Getting them on board will be rough enough on a regular day but if you are talking about having them relocate in order to get them into the new job, then funding that move may be necessary in this market place.

Paying on a scale that is commensurate with their skills and experience is going to be an absolute necessity. If you don’t they will find someone who will and that leaves your company behind the 8 ball.

Pay is not the only the factor as on boarding has to be on point too. It will be imperative to not only make the role well compensated but a situation and an environment in which people want to work.

In addition, find engagement tactics that will compel your talent and keep them on board as well as engaged until you are able to negotiate a good package deal for them all. The advantage of having your preferred recruiter involved is that they can do the heavy lifting and get the dirty work done so that you can keep clean, so to speak.

Hiring the right people is imperative in this day and age. Get creative & make it happen more easily by adding some perks to the package.

About two decades ago many larger companies began to move outward, taking their businesses with them and in so doing, damaging the face of America in many ways. The situation today is very different from that even scant ten years ago when those who had not moved out to put their manufacturing plants offshore, were in the process of offshoring. Today, given the many changes, it appears that many of the companies who moved just 10-15 years ago are now considering reshoring, or near shoring and many have already done so.

There are many reasons for these moves from higher shipping costs, rising wage and production costs in off shore locations to increased efficiency through technology and other such advances. This all means that the cost of manufacturing and operations in the home factories is also lower.

Today we’re seeing many companies moving their businesses back home as well as changing what they do in the face of massive changes in technology. The technological changes that are taking place include:

Improved IoT providing for better and faster movement inside the factory as well as the ability to change things inside the factory from miles away. It also allows us to be fully automated. PLCs are available that can change and correct problems prior to their actually taking place, allowing for better maintenance and better flow in the factory and on the factory floor. This saves money for the manufacturing company and allows them to have fewer employees, as well as to have a more streamlined business that can be run in a much smaller space.

In addition to this, advances in robotics are helping everyone to move products to market more quickly and easily. Robotics are now helping in the warehouses of manufacturing companies while also helping to move the products to the stores. Just a few months ago a fully automated truck drove products to the market place several hundred miles away in a test that changed the face of warehousing, logistics and supply quite fully.

As advances in technology and lower prices in warehousing, logistics and supply and the factory automation continues to change the face of manufacturing it will provide for the return of many companies to the United States where prior to now they were unable to be as profitable here as they were in offshore areas.

This is of course the positive news there are however hurdles and headaches that come with these moves. This is proving to be the largest obstacle and it is talent shortage. We will be addressing this issue in our next article as well as what steps can be taken to mitigate these issues.

If you are an employer facing these issues of and need to attract & retain top talent or you are looking for that next career opportunity, we will assist. Schedule a 15-minute triage call today and discuss what can be done to take you to that next level. https://whmeanorassociates.acuityscheduling.com/

James Kemper is the president of W. H. Meanor & Associates, an executive placement & training company specializing in engineering & manufacturing careers. He can be reached at: jms@whmeanor.com or 704-372-7640 #102 or visit at www.whmeanor.com